On Wednesday, February 26, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accused hackers associated with North Korea of carrying out what is currently known as the largest cryptocurrency theft, stealing around $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum from a company based in Dubai.
The theft occurred earlier this month at Bybit, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges headquartered in Dubai. The FBI stated that a North Korean government-backed hacking group called the Lazarus Group, through its subgroup TraderTraitor, was responsible for the theft.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the recent theft has caused a dip in overall cryptocurrency prices in the past few days, partly due to investors feeling anxious about the hacking attack.
As of Thursday, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin’s trading price fell to over $82,000 per coin, down from a high of over $100,000 a month ago.
The FBI stated that these hackers “stole cryptocurrencies by spreading modified cryptocurrency trading applications embedded with malicious software capable of theft.”
In an online public service announcement on Wednesday evening, the FBI mentioned that the TraderTraitor operation swiftly converted some of the stolen assets into Bitcoin and other virtual assets, dispersing them across thousands of addresses on multiple blockchains. It is expected that these assets will be further laundered and eventually converted into legal tender.
Ben Zhou, the co-founder and CEO of Bybit, responded to the FBI’s announcement via the social media platform X, providing a link to a website offering a $140 million reward for tracking the stolen cryptocurrencies and urging other exchanges to freeze these funds.
North Korean state media has not made any statements regarding the theft or the FBI’s accusations. The North Korean UN mission in Geneva also did not immediately respond to requests for comments from the Associated Press.
According to estimates from the South Korean intelligence agency, North Korea has stolen approximately $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and other virtual assets over the past five years, providing much-needed foreign exchange for its vulnerable economy and nuclear weapons program.
Moreover, a United Nations panel of experts stated that they are investigating 58 instances of suspected cyberattacks by North Korea between 2017 and 2023, resulting in a theft of around $3 billion. It has been reported that these funds were used to “fund the development of the country’s large-scale weapons of mass destruction.”